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Apologies if this comes twice, I'm having problems with my mail.
> I have been asked to conduct an introductory course on technical writing.
Is this for your company or for a more academic setting?
My heart lies in academia, so my suggestions will work more in that setting, but are probably adaptable easily enough:
> I need some more ideas on assignments. Please help.
Start off by showing the students a simple manual task, such as folding a paper airplane. Have them write down the instructions, then swap papers and try to recreate the plane one at a time only by following what is written. That's the best illumination of the necessity of good writing I've ever seen.
Have the students bring in instructions that they feel were particularly well or poorly written. Class discussion of why and how those lessons learned apply to their own writing.
I would also suggest a series of small assignments that are discussed in class, then rewritten and turned in at the end of class as fully formatted portfolio pieces. This way, everything funnels towards an uberassignment - the portfolio that will serve as the "final exam."
For example, using shareware (which is easy to find, adaptable to any platform, and cheap) have the students write:
1) a process piece. How to surf the web, safe sites to download, how to protect against downloading viruses
2) a marketing piece. Why is that the best software to use, when compared to other programs that do the same thing? Audience - your "boss," to convince him/her to purchase this program. Analysis to include price, function, current company equipment, etc.
3) An SME quickstart - how to download, install, startup.
4) A novice quickstart, specifically set up as a trifold brochure.
5) User guide, including task instructions, glossary, and troubleshooting information.
6) Computer based training, in this case defined as "a simple web site teaching a single task using this software."
Etc., etc. The point being that they get a real-world quick taste of the different types of writing required under the TW umbrella, instant feedback on the usefulness of their small assignments, and practice creating a portfolio.
Nea Dodson
who is looking into teaching this stuff herself
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